Violent crime in Houston sinks, but reasons unknown

Violent crime in Houston dropped 12 percent last year compared to 2009, according to the FBI's annual crime report released Monday that showed significant reductions in robbery, aggravated assault, rape and murder.

The FBI analysis, based on figures supplied by cities, indicates property crime in Houston also dropped 4.6 percent, as fewer burglaries, thefts and stolen cars were reported. Even so, the 1,355 fewer burglaries reported in 2010 compared to 2009 means Houston last year had nearly 28,000 break-ins or more than 76 a day.

Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland called the 2010 reductions "unprecedented" and noted drops in nearly all crime categories have continued in the first six months of this year.

"The credit and thanks goes to the 5,200 men and women at HPD, from the street officers to investigators to the command staff," McClelland said. "Our use of technology, like our 24/7 Crime Center, enables us to utilize our resources efficiently and serve as force multipliers. Our citizens also deserve a lot of credit for becoming more active in helping us do our jobs."

The declining number of crimes in Houston is part of a nationwide trend that experts trace back to the mid-1980s, a well-documented phenomena that has defied explanation but spawned numerous theories.

Crime experts have attributed the decline to everything from stricter sentencing practices, more progressive probation services, better police work and teens spending more time playing video games, less time causing trouble outside.

One theory from an economics professor even claims the removal of lead from gasoline from 1975-1985 lessened developmental problems in adolescents, leading to the slowdown in crime.

Issue is complex

"We don't have a good answer for why this is so, but we've had a lot of people who wanted to take credit in a number of ways and none of those have had much evidence behind them and ignore the long-term downturn,'' said professor Frank Williams, a criminologist at the University of Houston-Downtown. "The issue is really complex. There would be so many variables and factors involved that it really is hard to distinguish one from another."

The FBI figures showed violent crime decreased in many Houston-area cities, including Humble, Texas City, Santa Fe, League City, Pearland, Bellaire, Katy, Pasadena, La Marque and Baytown. All those cities had shown increases in their crime rates the previous year.

While violent crime rates increased dramatically in a handful of smaller cities in the Houston area, crime experts cautioned against making too much of large percentage increases because of the relatively small number of crimes involved.

Some cities went up

In Missouri City, Sugar Land, Cleveland, Nassau Bay and Kemah there were percentage increases ranging from 24 to 83 percent, but none of the cities had more than 200 violent crimes reported in a year.

Doug Adolph, a spokesman for Sugar Land, noted the 26 percent increase in violent crime from 2009 to 2010 represents only 29 more incidents during the entire year. He said so far this year, the city's violent crime rate is down more than 17 percent.

Hoover said some of the decline can be attributed to improved policing, in particular the use of sophisticated technology. He cited HPD's 24/7 Crime Center, which uses databases to quickly forward criminal background information to officers while they are on their way to a reported crime.

The professor said the crime drop may be linked to social stability among residents who previously could not advance in society. "There's been a real change in access to education and jobs by Americans who were traditionally part of the underclass," Hoover said.